Cell cycle- and EMT-dependent expression of Filip1L controls invadopodia in breast cancer cells

Abstract

Invadopodia are actin- and protease-rich membrane structures that enable cancer cells to degrade extracellular matrix (ECM). Invadopodia activity is cell cycle-dependent, but how their regulation across the cell cycle is influenced by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) remains unclear. We show that as the EMT progresses, cell engagement in invadopodia-mediated ECM degradation shits from G2 phase in Early E/M cells to G1 phase in Late E/M or M cells. Using bulk mRNA sequencing of Early- versus Late- E/M cells sorted by cell cycle phase, we identified FILIP1L as an EMT- and cell cycle-regulated candidate whose expression peaks in the invasive phase of each cell state: G2 in Early E/M cells and G1 in Late E/M cells. We next demonstrated that FILIP1L is a novel invadopodia component, whose loss increases ECM degradation while impairing migration and 3D invasion. In mouse models, FILIP1L KD tumors develop fewer metastatic colonies, suggesting that FILIP1L supports productive invasion by coordinating between invadopodia and migratory cell states. FILIP1L expression increases with EMT progression and correlates with poor outcomes in breast cancer patients. Together, these findings identify a previously unrecognized link between EMT, cell cycle and invadopodia and establish FILIP1L as the key regulator of this process.